Waterhouse Manor Care Home has opened a dedicated dementia care floor, The Lilypad Suite.
On Tuesday, 19th May, the first resident at Waterhouse Manor, Ena, had the honour of officially opening the new floor with a ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside relatives, team members and residents.
Ena Goulding commented on opening The Lilypad Suite, saying, “It was an honour to open The Lilypad Suite, it was a lovely surprise that I could cut the ribbon. I enjoyed the glass of wine I had to celebrate with my friends!’
The opening of the floor will provide a space where residents with dementia can be offered specialised support. The Lilypad Suite provides a dignified and nurturing environment for those living with dementia. The floor has thought-out communal areas with activities such as memory books, music, garden-themed areas, and sensory items in a calm and relaxing environment with support from trained team members.
The home that opened in 2024, named the new floor, The Lilypad Suite, which was chosen by their neighbouring school, Hampton Lakes Primary. Waterhouse Manor created a competition for the pupils to create names for the floors, which were all related to the surrounding environment of their local lake and nature.
Natalie Maxwell, Home Manager at Waterhouse Manor, said, “Opening the final floor at Waterhouse Manor is a wonderful milestone, and I am delighted to see our vision of a warm, welcoming home now fully complete.”
Residents, team members and relatives carried on the celebrations throughout the afternoon with a live saxophonist, refreshments and even some dancing to mark the occasion.
The Lilypad Suite was launched during Dementia Action Week, which runs from the 18th to 24th May 2026. It is an awareness campaign led by Alzheimer’s Society, bringing people and organisations together to act on dementia.
This year, they are encouraging everyone to join the Forget Me Not Appeal. Behind each Forget Me Not badge, there are stories of lives devastated by dementia, and when the badges are worn together, it becomes a movement of hope, action and unity.
